A universal yet satisfying potato salad, Emiko Numa's way. Adding vinegar as a secret ingredient helps the mayonnaise and ingredients meld, preventing it from becoming watery the next day, creating a delicious homemade taste. It's a dish you'll want to eat every day, never getting tired of.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients (3-4 servings)
- Potatoes 3
- Cucumber 1
- Onion 1/2
- Ham 8 slices
- Hard-boiled eggs 2
Seasonings
- [A] Salt to taste
- [B] Vinegar 2-3 tbsp
- [C] Mayonnaise 2.5 tbsp
- [D] Pepper a pinch
Steps
- Remove the eyes from the potatoes and soak them in a little water.
- Cut the potatoes into small pieces so they cook quickly.
- Place the cut potatoes in a pot and boil in enough water (or hot water) to cover.
- Prepare a bowl of water and add salt to taste to make saltwater.
- Thinly slice 1 cucumber with a slicer and soak in the saltwater. [This is the key!] Adjust the water released from the cucumber with the saltwater to maintain its crispness.
- Thinly slice 1/2 onion and soak it in the same saltwater as the cucumber. [This is the key!] Soaking in saltwater removes the onion's acridity.
- Finely chop 8 slices of ham.
- Separate the whites and yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs. Roughly chop the egg whites.
- Drain the boiled potatoes in a colander, return them to the pot, and evaporate the moisture over high heat.
- Mash the drained potatoes with a masher.
- Turn off the heat, add 2-3 tbsp of vinegar to the mashed potatoes, and mix. Then, turn the heat back on to evaporate the acidity of the vinegar. [This is the key!] Adding vinegar coats the mayonnaise dressing, preventing it from becoming watery and unifying the flavors.
- Squeeze the soaked cucumber and onion firmly to drain the water.
- Place the mashed potatoes, drained cucumber and onion, chopped ham, and roughly chopped hard-boiled egg whites into a bowl.
- Add 2.5 tbsp of mayonnaise and a pinch of pepper and mix well.
- Sprinkle the egg yolks over the top for garnish.
